A Tree in the Forest
by mabelreid
Summary: One shot Reid returns to a certain cabin in the woods to confront an old ghost. Happy Halloween!


**_Disclaimer: seen my profile_**

 _If a tree falls in the forest…_

Reid shut off the Volvo's engine and closed his eyes.

 _Why did you come back?_

The trees in this forest stood stark and still, like soldiers in parade rest, waiting for some dignitary, or general to inspect them. The leaves hung in bright and colorful tones of red, yellow and purple as if they'd put on their best dress uniforms for a special occasion.

Reid sighed as he left his ancient vehicle and stood leaning against the door. He stared ahead at a huge oak tree that spread its branches up, and up to a grey and pewter sky that glowered down at him as if to say, you don't belong here, interloper. He swallowed and let the tug of the building standing to his right, pull his head around to look at it, once again.

The cabin hadn't changed in five years. It stood comfortably amongst the trees with its inviting porch and its windows that gave it a questioning aspect.

 _Come in._

Reid clenched his fists and tried to slow the beating of his heart where it lived in his throat. His stomach lurched, and tears sprang into his eyes.

"You can do it," Maeve said from her position at his left side. She reached out and took his hand. As always, she felt warm to him, warm, and soft and comforting like a fluffy blanket on a bitterly cold, and gloomy day.

"I'm not sure," Reid said as he stared at the building with its weathered exterior and the answers to questions waiting inside.

"You can," Maeve assured him. "I know because I know you. You're strong, Spencer Reid, as strong as tempered steel."

"I don't want to be strong," Reid whispered as a wind, soft as the caress of Maeve's fingers on his cheek, sprang up and ruffled his unruly hair.

"I know, but you need to do this, babe. You need to go back inside and confront the ghost that lives there."

Reid nodded and reached back for her hand. Maeve squeezed it tight, and he began to walk forward, his shoes crunching on the fallen leaves around the cabin. He fumbled in his pocket for the key Stephen had given him to use whenever he liked.

"Five years is long enough," he murmured as he inserted the key and listened as the lock clicked open with a clack that seemed to echo forever in his head. His long fingers pushed open the door, and he reeled back over the threshold.

"No," he groaned as pain lanced into his head.

"Breath," Maeve comforted. "Stand true and breathe.

 _If a tree falls in the forest…_

"Yes," Maeve agreed. "Go inside and see the tree."

Reid stepped inside and saw the tree. Gideon stood in the middle of the room near a wooden table. He stared at Reid with eyes that cared but didn't judge.

"I thought you'd never come."

"I was – ah, I was afraid," Spencer said.

Gideon strode forward and wrapped Spencer into his arms for a long embrace. As with Maeve, Jason felt warm and solid and reassuring. "I missed you," Spencer choked out. "Why did you come back here alone? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I had to see this through alone," Gideon said as he gestured to the kitchen. "I made pasta, peas, and parmesan; you're favorite."

Spencer grinned at him. "So now, my delusions are cooking for me."

Gideon shrugged. "As you like, but it's hot and ready to eat, and it's a cold day."

Reid looked at Maeve, who nodded her head. "All right, I'll sit down and eat."

Maeve took her place to Reid's left, and Gideon served them from a large china platter decorated with the birds he loved to watch. Another plate held freshly baked bread, and another contained steamed broccoli. Reid grimaced, and Gideon grinned as the delicious scents of food prepared with love, washed over them.

"Gotta eat your vegetables."

"Peas are vegetables," Reid pointed out.

"Yes, but they're mixed in with cheese and butter," Gideon argued.

Maeve giggled and smirked at Reid as he took a generous portion. "It's not real, so I suppose it doesn't matter."

Gideon shrugged. "As you like."

Reid turned to Maeve and noticed that they sat on the porch in heavy wooden chairs. The wind made the trees dance and their leaves whisper as if revealing secrets kept for millennia. He held a steaming cup of coffee in his hands.

"That was delicious," Maeve said.

"Yes, it was."

"Are you going to ask me the question on your mind, Spencer," Gideon inquired from a chair to Reid's right.

"I already asked it."

"No," Gideon shook his head. "You didn't ask the _right_ question, the one that's bothered you for twelve years."

Spencer looked at the trees, and some of them moved instead of standing like soldiers waiting for the order to march. He saw Maeve from the corner of his eye, and he knew Gideon watched from his right, but his mouth wouldn't obey his wishes.

"Why?" Reid asked after long minutes of trying to say the words he had to say but didn't want to articulate. "Why did you leave the note. You knew," Reid gasped, and his voice began to rise as tears filled his eyes. _"You knew!"_

"Yes," Gideon admitted as he laid a hand on Reid's arm. "I knew. I did it because I knew that someday you'd understand, and you _do_ , or you wouldn't be here."

"You don't know what I think," Reid argued.

"If I'm just a figment of your imagination, then I do know because I come from inside your head," Gideon touched Reid's temple. "If I am a ghost, an apparition, or a spirit, then I know because I left the note."

Reid's left foot began to thump up and down as the wind rose a little, tossing the top of the oak tree to and fro like a ship on the open ocean.

"You're right, okay. I understand, and I'm here to say goodbye, _finally_ ," Reid said on the end of a sob.

Maeve leaned over and lay her head on his arm as her hand squeezed his fingers tightly. "It's okay," she said quietly.

"I don't know what to do from here."

"You get in your car and drive away. You go back to your life."

Reid laughed bitterly. "I don't have a life, Jason. Maeve is gone, except for the memory of her, I keep alive and at my side. You're gone. My mother is retreating into her mind and will soon be gone except for a body that breathes and eats and sleeps without truly living. Isn't that all we are, the sum of our memories?"

Gideon shook his head, sadly, and said, "You know that's not true, Spencer. You saw it when you died in another lonely cabin. We have that in common, at least."

Spencer's head snapped up. "I – um, I don't know – my god, Jason."

"If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?"

"Yes," said Spencer and Maeve together.

"If a man dies alone on the floor of a cabin in the forest, does anyone mourn?"

"Neither of us died alone," Reid contradicted. "There were men with us."

"Sad and lonely and sick men who punished others for their choices. They meant nothing, and they still mean nothing. The ones that mean something are the ones that love us, Spencer. You _know_ that in your heart."

"Yes," Reid said between sobs. "I know it's true, but I want you back, both of you."

"We'll always walk with you, Spencer," Gideon said. "Always and until the end of time, whether you be flesh or spirit. That's what family does, my son."

Reid blinked, and Gideon was gone, this time for good. He stood and went to the railing that faced his car. "Time to go," he said in a small voice that resembled a child in terrible pain.

Reid turned and saw that Maeve stood looking at him with her lovely sea blue eyes. "You may not see him as you do me, but he's still with you, Spencer."

Reid nodded and went to the cabin door. He shut it without going back inside and turned the lock. This time his heart felt lighter as weight began to lift from his shoulders. "Be happy, Spencer," he heard a soft voice whisper.

"Come on," Maeve tugged at his hand. "Let's go home."

The wind suddenly dropped, and sunlight began to filter through the cracks in the gray and pewter clouds overheard. The golden light threw shadows onto the surface of the cabin and danced as if in joy over the coming of death to the world in winter.

"Spring will come again, and Halloween is your favorite," Maeve said as she led him away from the cabin. Let's go home and watch a few scary movies. We'll have hot dogs, beer, popcorn, and candy."

"Sounds like a great idea," Spencer agreed.

Reid started the engine of his old Volvo and backed out of the drive and toward the main road. He stopped at the entrance to the road leading back to the old cabin and watched it for a long time.

"Good-bye, Gideon."

 _If a tree falls in the forest…_


End file.
